A Temporary Thinning of the Federal Purse

Nevada’s Local Food Programs Get a Chilly Reception

In an act that has sent school cooks and food bank operators into animated disbelief, the federal government has momentarily taken leave of its senses and frozen over $8 million intended for fresh vittles for Nevada’s schoolchildren and food-insecure populations. The Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA), standing in the frostbitten shadow of the decision, has confirmed that the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) are now temporarily defunct—at least in the financial sense.

Once upon a time, which is to say, last December, the USDA was full of promises, pledging a kingly sum of $1.13 billion to ensure these programs would see the light of 2025. Then, as swiftly as a politician dodging a straight answer, the Trump administration put the brakes on the funding in January, and now, for reasons left to the imagination, the programs have been axed—though officials assure, only in a temporary, “we’ll-see-about-that” kind of way.

Had the money materialized as once foretold, Nevada schools would have received over $4 million, a welcome bounty for the 63 school food authorities tasked with keeping the young scholars of the Silver State from subsisting on nothing but air and good intentions. Another nearly $4 million was to go to the Home Feeds Nevada initiative, which, in its more prosperous days, funneled local meats and produce straight from hardworking farmers into the hands of food banks such as the Northern Nevada Food Bank and Three Square. Since 2023, the program has secured over $6 million in agricultural goods from 265 small-scale Nevada farms and ranches, ensuring that children and struggling families get sustenance with nutritional merit rather than just the government-issued powdered milk and cheese loaf.

The NDA, not one to fold under pressure, still clings to the last $139,000 rattling around in its coffers—funds expected to run dry June 30 unless the winds of legislative fortune shift in their favor. Senate Bill 233, currently milling about in the Nevada Legislature, proposes an $800,000 patch to keep the Home Feeds Nevada program from keeling over entirely.

However, as is often the case in the grand theater of politics, the bill is in no hurry, and future hearings remain conveniently unscheduled. For now, Nevada’s schools and food banks must weather the storm, waiting to see if Washington’s hand of generosity will thaw before the pantry shelves run bare.